Martian Manhunter
'Ma'aleca'andra' On the planet Ma'aleca'andra, which to earth is known as Mars, lived the civilization of the Green Martians. Martians were a race of beings whose culture was directly correlated to their mental capabilities. They could share thoughts, feelings, and any other form of expression they chose through telepathic means. Martians also possessed the ability alter their physical forms, which had ties to their society as well. The Martian race was very associated with duality. Martians as adults would carry on two occupations and two forms. They would show a public form in their work and a private, true form only with their loved ones. The Manhunters of Mars were the police, detectives, military, and diplomats on Mars who are trained to protect the public. J'onn and Ma'alefa'ak were born twins on Mars to their parents M'yrnn and Sha'sheen J'onzz. M'yrnn was a council member and scholar; Sha'sheen was a Manhunter and precog. Despite the connection between Martian culture and duality, twins were not very common. J'onn's name literally meant "Light to the light." Ma'alefa'ak's name literally meant "Darkness in the heart." Their names were chosen based on a vision Sha'sheen had of their futures. As children, J'onn was sociable and enjoyed company from other Martians. Ma'alefa'ak preferred to stay on his own as he believed that everyone hated him and resented J'onn because he believed that everyone loved him. J'onn asked his mother why she named him and Ma'alefa'ak the way she did, and she told him that it was meant to warn Ma'alefa'ak of a future he may bring. When they grew into adults, J'onn became a Manhunter, like his mother, and a philosopher. He completed his Manhunter training, which perfected his skill in combat, diplomacy, and telepathic finesse. Ma'alefa'ak became a theologian and physicist. Ma'alefa'ak claimed that he would fuse mysticism and science and decided to worship the New Gods. He invited them to send an emissary to Mars to meet the Martian council, and they sent the Glorious Godfrey. Over time, Granny Goodness and Kanto came as well. J'onn and Kanto developed a respect for one another and a friendship. However, at night, the Female Furies and an army of Parademons arrived through Boom Tubes and attacked the Martians, using fire to gain the advantage. The Manhunters joined their mental powers to attack the Female Furies and the Parademons, which resulted in their retreat. However, the Manhunters noticed that the Martian children, the council, and Ma'alefa'ak had been captured and taken to Apokolips. Metron appeared and informed the Martians that they gave Darkseid an understanding of the Anti-Life Equation because of what the Martians called the Life Equation, which allowed all beings free will. Metron took J'onn to Apokolips in order to retrieve the children the New Gods captured. When J'onn arrived, he confronted Kanto, who put J'onn in a holding cell, only for him to be released and aided by Himon. As he searched for the children, J'onn met with My'riah, who followed the New Gods through their Boom Tubes to try to save her sister. J'onn successfully sent My'riah and the Martian children back to Mars through a Boom Tube, before which he and My'riah had developed a connection to each other. J'onn found where the council was being held and experimented on. His father, M'yrnn, had his soul disconnected with his body and displaced due to experimentation in which the Martians were dissected physically, mentally, and spiritually. J'onn saved his brother from his cell as Desaad, Kanto, Granny Goodness, and Virman Vundabar caught them. J'onn released the ghosts of the Martian council to attack the New Gods so that he and his brother could escape. He sent Ma'alefa'ak through a Boom Tube back to Mars while he stayed on Apokolips with Himon to try to stop Darkseid's search for the Anti-Life Equation. After some time, Lightray appeared before Darkseid as a messenger from Highfather telling him that his search for the Anti-Life Equation is a breach of the truce between New Genesis and Apokolips and would be reacted with war if Darkseid did not cease his search. As such, Darkseid agreed, and Lightray called for J'onn to reveal himself, to which Darkseid took note of the enemy who had been sabotaging his efforts. J'onn told Kanto that his fight with him was not over, after which Darkseid used his Omega beams to send J'onn back to Mars. 'H'ronmeer's Curse' When J'onn arrived back on Mars, he spoke with what was left of the Martian council. They had held Ma'alefa'ak in a small area that used to be his laboratory. He was mentally dissected on Apokolips to a degree that none of the Martian healers could help him. J'onn convinced Ma'alefa'ak to lie in rest, but when he left, Ma'alefa'ak received a telepathic message from Darkseid who gave him orders to continue a search for the Anti-Life Equation. J'onn and My'riah were joined in a ceremony. When they returned to their home, My'riah was influenced by another mind into attacking J'onn, although she regained control over herself once again. Healers worked with My'riah to discover that she was the victim of what Martians call mind-raping, one of the most violating and highest order crimes on Mars. Sha'sheen believed that Ma'alefa'ak had been the one who mind-raped My'riah. J'onn, however, defended his brother as the Manhunters had no proof that he was the criminal they were searching for. J'onn and My'riah tried to work past what had done to her, and the two gave birth to a daughter named K'hym. J'onn was later called away from his wife at his home by a telepathic alert by the Manhunters. He showed up as they called to find his mother lifeless, only her soul trapped in her body. The Manhunters took her to the Well of Souls to be released. Upon release, Sha'sheen's soul told J'onn that she invaded Ma'alefa'ak's mind and discovered that he was the one who mind-raped My'riah and that he did this to try to uncover the Anti-Life Equation for Darkseid; however, her discover caused her death. J'onn decided to confront his brother, who hid on Venus. J'onn arrived on Venus alone, defeated Ma'alefa'ak, and returned him to Mars. The Manhunters decided to sever Ma'alefa'ak his telepathic abilities. They would place restraints on his mental powers, wipe his memory, and implant memories making him believe that he was born without telepathy. Because of this, Ma'alefa'ak hated the other Martians even more as he could not sense their thoughts or feelings. He used his scientific and alchemical knowledge to create a plague that would be sent between Martians through telepathy. This made him immune to it. It would trigger the Martians' inherent fear of fire and cause their bodies to burn until they died. This plague became known by the Martians as H'ronmeer's Curse, named after H'ronmeer, the Martian god of fire and art. The Manhunters convened to discuss the matter, once again indicting Ma'alefa'ak, only for J'onn to defend his brother again. J'onn offered to confront Ma'alefa'ak. He went home to his wife and daughter, only to find that K'hym had been infected by the plague. J'onn tried to stop My'riah from connecting her mind to K'hym, but she refused. The two of them burned and died before J'onn's eyes as he was forced to disconnect his mind from his own family in order to save his life. J'onn was angered by this and flew to his brother's lab with the intention of killing him. The two fought until the building collapsed around them, and J'onn believed his brother dead. 'Earth' J'onn wandered Mars for a period of time, the length of which even he was unsure of. Eventually, he was transported to earth by a beam sent to Mars by a man named Dr. James Erdel in Denver, Colorado. The house caught fire on his arrival, and J'onn and Erdel were trapped. Although disoriented, J'onn managed to bring Dr. Erdel out of the rubble, but Erdel died outside the burning house. When the police arrived to investigate, J'onn hid, invisible to them, as he observed Detective John Jones. Using his telepathy to understand English, J'onn was impressed with and found a likeness with Jones and decided to follow him, studying the manner in which he lived and conducted himself. J'onn believed this may grant him some understanding of the world he was transported to against his will. Through Detective Jones, J'onn learned about humanity. He learned about the variety, the potential, the good, the depravity, and many other aspects. He understood certain aspects very keenly and could never comprehend others. J'onn also learned everything about Jones and his lifestyle. After a year of observation, Jones received a visit from two officers, Kawicki and Morgan, who were bought off by a crimelord Jones had been investigating and hired to murder him. J'onn invisibly disposed of Kawicki but failed to suspect that Morgan would be part of the hit as well, due to lack of understanding of their betrayal of Jones as a whole. Jones and Morgan both shot one another simultaneously, resulting in both of their deaths. As Jones was influential in the case and his testimony was needed in court, J'onn decided to take his identity and become Detective John Jones, shape changing his form to that of Jones, mimicking his voice, and acting out his lifestyle for him. In addition to working as a detective in Denver, he also established numerous human identities around the world. He had an identity as a businessman in Japan, a homeless child in Brazil, a cat in Venice, and several other alter egos. J'onn developed these identities by living the life of a person recently deceased whom he respected and used these identities to protect and aid the people they knew. For instance, he would protect and provide for other homeless children in Brazil. This brought him into encounters worldwide with different types of people, different types of cultures, and different types of experiences. He grew even more understanding of human nature through this and more confused by it. He began to witness and suffer himself the hatred that people have for other people different from themselves, as well as the care that people demonstrate for one another. 'Powers:' *'Superhuman Strength-' The Martian Manhunter has shown incredible superhuman strength comparable to that of some of earth's strongest heroes, such as Superman, Wonder Woman, and Captain Marvel. He has proven able to trade punches with several powerhouses and lift great weights. The Manhunter has pulled the earth with the help of Superman and Wonder Woman, as Diana's lasso was tied around it. *'Superhuman Speed-' J'onn possesses great levels of metahuman speed. He has shown able to move, operate, react, and perceive at speeds much greater than that of a human being. His reflexes have allowed him to dodge high-velocity projectiles, such as bullets. He has applied speed in combat as well, being able to rapidly throw melee attacks during a fight. *'Superhuman Durability-' Along with his great strength and speed, Martian Manhunter has a high resiliency to physical harm, granting him the ability to easily shrug off bullets. His durability is great enough that he has withstood physical attacks from opponents at or above Superman's strength level, as well as energy attacks, temperature extremes, and high pressures. He has multiple times flown through space unaided. *'Superhuman Stamina-' J'onn's physiology is more efficient over prolonged periods of time as it grants him long lasting endurance. He has worked, traveled, and fought for extended amounts of time without tiring. *'Regeneration-' Martian cellular structure is more precisely and more swiftly recuperating than human tissue. J'onn has regrown his entire body from a severed arm before, although he transferred a copy of his brain and his soul into his arm before severance. He has reformed from being cut to pieces on several occasions, even doing so from small pieces of his total matter. *'Flight-' As a Martian, J'onn can fly without any outside aid with significant speed and maneuverability. Flight has allowed for advantage in tactical situations and rescues. Under his own flight power, the Manhunter has even been able to travel faster than light. *'Shape Shifting-' Martians possess the natural ability to alter their molecular structure into anything they choose. They can change shape, size, color, density, malleability, and even their chemical composition. J'onn has applied this capability in a number of ways, including stealth purposes, defensive maneuvers, offensive maneuvers, and adaption during combat. Martian physiology is also capable of absorbing outside matter into it to increase mass. This matter can be used and manipulated as though it were part of a Martian's body, sometimes being used to grow in size and fill wounds, among other uses. If this mass intake becomes unneeded after use, Martians can also expel this matter back outside their bodies. The most common application that J'onn is applies for his shape shifting is to assume his human identities. Using his manipulable shape, he has also grown to the size of skyscraper; reduced his size to that of an arrow and lower; purposefully broken his body apart; grown extra limbs to aid him in a fight and to make heavy lifts; shape shifted weaponry; changed his chemical structure into armor or other protective forms; increased his density to that of a diamond; and other more obscure uses such as growing a phosphorescent light in his chest. *'Intangibility-' J'onn is capable of rendering himself intangible by altering his physicality to pass harmlessly through objects. Presumably, he lowers his density until he loses physical tangibility. The Martian has used this ability to avoid a wide variety of attacks, including physical blows, energy blasts, freezing, and others. He has even applied this in combat by phasing his arms through an opponent's body to cause physical trauma. *'Invisibility-' Martian Manhunter's body also has the ability to become invisible to the human eye. He has described the method by which he accomplishes this as bending light rays around him, but it also seems to have a tie to his manipulation of physical structure. Whatever the means may be, J'onn has acted stealthily and deceptively using this power. *'Telepathy-' The Martian capability to share thoughts and emotions has been stated by J'onn as extending beyond what the human word "telepathy" implies. He has said that "telepathy" is simply the closest human word to what Martians have. Regardless, the mental powers that all Martians possess affords them influence over thoughts. J'onn is one of the most powerful and most versatile telepaths on New Earth. His telepathy has operated for numerous different functions. It has worked as a telepathy, empathy, soul manipulation, psychic energy manipulation, and even a pseudo-techno interface. He can invade other minds; read and scan minds; communicate mentally; transfer thoughts and information between minds; establish telepathic links between minds; trace others mentally; shut down minds; mind control others; manipulate thoughts; wipe memories; create telepathic suggestions; induce sleep; render others unconscious; put others into comas; undo and bypass mental restraints; enter and exit the astral plane; cause severe mental pain; create illusions; emit a telepathic and verbal scream; and shield himself and others from mental intrusion, among many other uses. The Manhunter's potency with his mental powers is such that he can invade minds as powerful as the Spectre's, and he has more than once scanned the earth. His shields have withstood the telepathic power of White Martians and on another occasion the Mageddon machinery. Offensively, his telepathic powers have been sufficient to defeat both Green and White Martians. **'Psionic Energy Generation-' The Manhunter can apply his mental powers to project and control psionic energy as well. He has fired powerful psionic energy blasts, created psionic nets, generated psychic energy manifestations, overpowered psionic energy beings, etc. **'Empathy-' J'onn can also sense other's emotions to offer support or detect a cause of an emotional state. This grants him an understanding he may otherwise not have with his fellows. Despite his difficulty understanding human nature, J'onn's telepathic abilities have helped him connect to his friends emotionally. **'Soul Interaction-' Another function of Martian telepathy is interaction with souls and consciousnesses. When Martians die, their culture dictates that their consciousness is brought to the Well of Souls. J'onn has affected and interacted with various souls and spiritual entities on more than one occasion. **'Technological Interface-' Martian Manhunter has aslo utilized his telepathy as a pseudo-techno interface in order to control, scan, or interface with machinery that has a sentient or semi-sentient mind or mental interface programmed into it. He has interacted with the Construct telepathically; penetrated Mageddon's mind field, as Mageddon was a telepathic war machine; and entered Antares' psi-pool to understand its functions. **'Mayavanna-' Mayavanna is a Martian gift that grants the receiver what they desire most. This ability can only be used once a lifetime; however, this ability seems to work more potently than a simple illusion. J'onn used this ability on Despero to save the Justice League. He entered Despero's mind and created a simulation of what Despero most wanted. *'Telekinesis-' J'onn has on a few occasions lifted objects or people telekinetically. However, this ability seems to be kept on reserve and is, overall, largely unused. *'Super Scream'- Combing both verbal and telepathic power, J'onn has on one occasion demonstrated a super scream that staggered the Justice League. *'Heat Vision'- Similar to the heat blasts that yellow sun-empowered Kryptonians use, Martians are also capable of firing powerful heat attacks from their eyes. *'Superhuman Senses-' J'onn possess higher and more numerable senses than human beings. The Manhunter's vision, hearing, and smell are capable detection and observation on levels ordinary humans never could. Martians also possess X-Ray vision and, as such, can peer through solid objects. *'Longevity-' Martian lifespans are naturally longer lasting than human lifetimes. Although the Manhunter lived on Mars for decades and lived for decades more on earth, he still has not shown sign of old age. Category:Characters Category:Characters